1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
an irretrievable drug addict who had wasted a once-promising life
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irreparable
not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
this is just an irretrievable mess, so let's start all over again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irretrievable
Alcaraz broke the Italian twice, winning the set with an incredible backhand flick from what looked like an irretrievable position and cupping his ear.
—
Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
Lawmakers warn that evidence critical to future war crimes investigations may be irretrievable.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
And there was data that was lost, that was irretrievable.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
Lawmakers warn that evidence critical to future war crimes investigations may be irretrievable.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
And there was data that was lost, that was irretrievable.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irretrievable
Adjective
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Moreover, Munis said, with enough notice a heavy-hitting Democrat might have entered the contest, instead of the lowly bunch now running hopeless campaigns.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
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And for the hopeless romantics among us, there’s confessions of love, yearning, and unlikely lovers.—
De Elizabeth,
Glamour,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Ex-Deutsche Bank AG executive Michele Faissola is seeking as much as £500 million ($669 million) in his UK lawsuit over allegations the lender caused irreparable harm to his career, according to people familiar with the matter.—
Arno Schütze,
Bloomberg,
19 Mar. 2026
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The administration argued in court that benefits fraud in Colorado necessitated a pilot program, that the federal government had the ability to mandate such a program and that the state did not show the immediate, irreparable harm that would warrant a preliminary injunction.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Arcellx is developing a new class of immunotherapies for patients with cancer and other incurable diseases.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
23 Feb. 2026
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Arcellx focuses on immunotherapies for patients with cancer and others with incurable diseases.—
Scott Schnipper,
CNBC,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The damage done to the North African country’s records of cultural heritage could be horribly destructive and irreversible, warned a call for solidarity released in 2023 by the International Council of Museums.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
17 Mar. 2026
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In the 1960s, Thalidomide, a drug marketed for morning sickness, left children around the world with irreversible birth defects; the United States avoided such a fate thanks to the FDA’s oversight.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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An irrecoverable loss of the entirety of our personal data.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2026
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Broadly speaking, this is probably not irrecoverable damage to the ecosystem.—
Shaun McKinnon,
AZCentral.com,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This leads to what may be a unrecoverable confession from Emma that adds tension to the lead-up to their nuptials.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
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If the government stays closed, the blame will fall on those fighting to protect an agency operating at an unrecoverable trust deficit, pushing out transparent propaganda that Republican politicians are struggling to coherently defend.—
Logan McMillen,
Washington Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Many of the country’s top psychiatric groups warn that there is no empirical standard for determining whether a mental-health condition is irremediable.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
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Any RVs at the encampment found to have long-term rat infestations will be classified as irremediable biohazards and destroyed, according to the notice.—
Kate Talerico,
San Francisco Chronicle,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Daisy’s strategy with Mike has always been to treat him like a misbehaved child, which works insofar as scolding an incorrigible child does.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
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Terrible for me, an incorrigible snoop of other people’s phones, but probably a good thing for society at large.—
David Pierce,
The Verge,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irretrievable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irretrievable. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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